Nike Pulls 'Boston Massacre' T-Shirts from Stores

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Nike is scrambling to pull its 'Boston Massacre' t-shirts off shelves.

As any baseball fan knows, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have a storied rivalry. So when New York beat Boston handily in the American League championship series (in 1978 and later again in 2006), Yankee fans wasted no time in gloating, dubbing the event the 'Boston Massacre' (a play on the historical 1770 massacre). To commemorate the win, Nike has been selling a blood-spattered t-shirt, printed with the words "Boston Massacre," to Yankees fans for the past few years. But now, obviously, those shirts conjure up a much more devastating image than just losing a few baseball games.

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Nike announced that it will be pulling the shirts from retailers because of the recent tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon, according to ABC News. We've reached out to Nike for a statement and will update if we hear back. UPDATE: A Nike spokesperson told us, "The shirts being referenced are older baseball shirts that were predominantly being sold through our Factory Store Outlets. In light of the tragedy in Boston we took immediate action last week to remove this product from distribution."

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You can still find the shirt on eBay, though. When we first started researching this story, the price for one of the now-controversial shirts was $79.99; it's now listed for $129.97.

All eyes are on Boston this morning. While we wait for the news to unfold, our hearts and prayers with the Boston people, one retailer is doing its part to help the victims from Monday's blast.
Adidas yesterday unveiled a limited edition t-shirt in commemoration of the bombings with plans to donate 100% of the proceeds to The One Fund Boston Inc, established Wednesday to help victims, WWD is reporting. The t-shirt reads "Boston stands as one."

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In The Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombings: Nike scrambles to pull old "Boston Massacre" t-shirts from stores. Now, however, that same shirt is going for $150,000 on eBay.

Something as horrific as the Boston Marathon bombing doesn't just go away. If September 11, 2011 is any indication, the city will feel its repercussions for years to come. But there's one big difference between now and then. Today, we live in a world that is sadly more prepared for such tragedies.
That's why experts predict that Boston's retailers will stay 'Boston strong' over the next year instead of losing sales. "I almost think it's going to have the opposite effect," says Ken Morris, a partner at consulting firm Boston Retail Partners. "People are pissed off. They'll go out of their way to support local businesses to prove 'we're tougher than this.'"